Monday, July 20, 2015

Surgery Went Well – BUT

AJ, AZ  High 104  Low 84

I need to get this all typed up before I forget it.

We left the house at 4:30 this morning and got checked in at 5:25. It didn’t take long for them to take him up to pre-op prep. When he was all hooked up they took me up and we visited with the anesthesiologist , several doctors (interns?) who were learning how to check his pulse in his feet and mark the feet. They also checked out his lump and marked it all up with purple pens. Then the surgeon came in and went over everything one more time. At 7:30 they sent me back down to the waiting area and took him off to la-la land.

At 9:00 the surgeon came out to talk to me. Told me that Jim was doing really good and the lump turned out to be a seroma which is a collection of fluid that builds up under the surface of your skin. They form after a rather extensive extensive procedure where a lot of tissue is removed or disrupted. This happened back in 2012 when he had his femoral artery in his left leg operated on. The surgeon was able to clean it out and he put a drain in it which Jim will have for a week or so.

Then he did the angiogram to check out the right leg. This is where the BUT comes into play. There is a blockage in his groin area and it could not be fixed with a stent. It is going to require another surgery for him to clean it out and put a patch on it. That means that Jim is still going to have trouble walking. This is not an emergency situation so Jim and I will do some talking to figure out what we want to do.

Our options are to go ahead and head north after he heals from this surgery and then have the surgery when we get back, or to stay here and have the surgery. Our main problem is our driver’s licenses have to be renewed in South Dakota and winter is an issue if we get any later into the year.

It took forever to get him into a room so I finally got home at 2:30, ten hours later. Boy were the girls glad to see me. I had put puppy pads all over the floor so they were okay. Early to bed tonight.

32 comments:

  1. Sounds like a good day. So glad there are no emergencies! To bad they can't renew your drivers license by mail.

    Hope you get a good nights sleep!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Could you fly to South Dakota when he is feeling up to it and take care of the drivers license problem? I know at least one Rver did that a few years ago and she only had to stay overnight in a motel one night. You could board the dogs for a few days or get a trusted friend to take care of them. A rental car at the airport would take care of transportation. Somehow since we all have homes on wheels we think we have to drive them everywhere we need to go! Hope Jim recovers quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice that all is going good for Jim, next project , good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like the news is good overall:) Happy for you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good news overall. Just how serious is the But?

    ReplyDelete
  6. So glad to hear Jim is doing well. One step at a time. I like the comment about flying back to SD. May cost a little bit of money but might be well worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I had to renew at the beginning of March when it was very cold! I stayed in a beautiful motel that sent a cab for me, and the motel is just a few blocks from the D/L renewal office. One of the desk clerks drove me over when she got off her shift, and they sent a cab for me when I needed to come back. They feature a full breakfast, with more choices than I've ever had at a motel/hotel. If you are interested please let me know and I'll get all the details for you. By the way, I went to the Sioux Falls office, and everything went so well. I think there are restaurants very close but it was so cold I didn't want to even walk across the parking lot. The folks there are so nice you could probably get a lift from one of them if you really need it, or you could rent a car at the airport and drive it. Everything in Sioux Falls is close to everything else, so you wouldn't have any problems at all.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Long day, but the answers seem positive, so glad to hear this.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Check the South Dakota website - it says you can renew DL up to 180 days prior to its expiration date - but I would call them to verify - it is not necessary to go there in the middle of winter - Hope Jim has a great recovery and you can go forward with your plans - Best Wishes

    ReplyDelete
  10. We flew back last year and stayed in the motel behind the driver's license building. Of course, we did it in December which is a pain in the you-know-what! So sorry to hear that another surgery is required. Chin up but that's easy for me to say!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Seems to be a long journey doesn't it? Glad it mostly went well today.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Glad most of the news is good. Yet the other problem needs fixing yet but at least it isn't an Emergency. Wanderin seems to have a solution to the license renewal. Something to think about.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Did you know you can file for an extension? My husband got one earlier this year. Hope Jim recovers quickly. Becki

    ReplyDelete
  14. We are so thankful that Jim came through the surgery well. But sorry that he is going to need another.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Decisions, decisions. I'm happy for you both that the first surgery went well!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Good to hear that Jim came through the surgery well but sorry to here about this latest development and knowing that he will have to have further surgery. Not an easy decision to make.

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Crikey ..... We are so glad all went well. The Buts will take care of themselves. All is well for now and that is good. Rest up Jim and take care. We are thinking of you.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Glad the surgery went well, but sorry to hear another one is required. {Hugz}

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yes, call SD. They will give you a one year extension.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Glad to hear the surgery went well and good they found the other issue so that it can now be attended to.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Always something. Glad the first part went well anyway. Tell Jim we're thinking of him.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Always something. Glad the first part went well anyway. Tell Jim we're thinking of him.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Good to hear that Jim managed this surgery well. Not so good to have to have yet another one. I suggest you both have another meet with the doctor and see what he suggests time wise. What will happen if you delay the surgery? Hopefully a phone call will rectify the DL situation. You are going to have a busy few days ahead.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Glad to hear the surgery today went well. Sorry about the "BUT" but at least it isn't too serious.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I am so glad to hear that the surgery went well. You must be tired and all worked up. Also the possibility of an other surgery must be hard to deal with (for both of you) but I think it will be best to see what the specialists have to say. I hope that what ever you decide works out fine. It is hard to figure out when there are more than one thing that is on the list of priorities. Take care of yourself. Try to sleep if you can and please eat right. Our prayers are with you guys.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Yay but argh! Sometimes our health issues feel never ending. Getting old can be the pits.

    I was going to mention getting a DL extension but several people already beat me to it. You certainly have a valid reason for the extension if you decide to go that way.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Make your decisions health wise. The drivers license isn't that important. Worse case, you get an Arizona one.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Glad the surgery went well; our thoughts and prayers are with you.

    ReplyDelete
  29. It sounds like a very successful surgery, and now they know what to do next. That lump in my dog, Katie's, leg is a seroma. I'd never heard that word before her ant nest episode, but I did read that they are caused by a "traumatic" event, or appear around a surgery site, which if course is traumatic to the body. I'm glad that's all it was in Jim's case.

    Quick healing to Jim. :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Happy to hear Jim's surgery went well. Agree with others on the doctor consultation for a timeline on second operation. Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Sounds like good news. Glad it's all over for now.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting today. I look forward to reading your comments. Have a beautiful day.